Over 483 reviews forFlorence Home Builders from people just like you.

"The workers were great.They were on time,cleaned up the yard every day when finished with the job.they did an excellent job,was very pleased with the outcome.

-Ron F.

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"Contacted

and received a return call from

within an hour. I explained that we had ice dams developing after we received" ...More our record snowfall for the season.

came over that evening to take a look at the roof. He was forthcoming and felt the roof condition was fine. He did recommend that the roof be cleared as we were expecting another large storm. Set-up an appointment for later that week. He came with two workers. Once they cleared the roof they made sure the stairwells, walkways, and deck were cleared before finishing the job.

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Angie's Answers

Yes, but you won't like what will probably happen (this is a worst case scenario, hopefully you will avoid most):

The purpose for a building permit is to ensure meeting the minimum standards for construction practices and minimum safety standards. A contractor who works without a permit, does so because they know they are not in compliance (and to save money at your expense). They knew they should have had inspections and permits for their work. Who ever built the addition should be reported to both the building official as well as the Better Business Bureau. It is ultimately the homeowner who is responsible for ensuring the proper permits have been applied for, though.

So when you apply for your permit, you will be pretending as if the work is not completed (you do not hide this fact, you just have to follow the correct process as if it hadn't been built). Your first stop will be with zoning; can you even add an addition, do you have the proper clearances from the side, front and rear property lines. If it is a bedroom, does the septic system (perk test) support an additional bedroom. If your building already meets or exceeds the amount of building allowed on the site or if you do not have the clearances required from the property line, your addition may be required to be removed. There are appeal processes and variance requests you can try before tearing down the addition (Get an architect).

If your zoning review is fine, next you go to permitting. Here you will submit plans (drawings) of what was built. If you do not have these plans, consider hiring an Architect to generate As-Built drawings for this use. Hopefully the plan review comes back with no changes, or you will alread know your addition is not in compliance and may face rebuilding. Depending on the type of construction, your zoning and your local building requirements, you will be required to have inspections of your foundation / footings, the framing, the electrical, mechancial and HVAC systems, etc. affected by the work.

This may require digging the ground back up so the inspector can confirm foundation depth, size and draingage requirements. The interior wall finishes (gypsum board, panelling, etc) may have to be removed in some or all areas so the framing and electrical can be inspected (If one area fails, be prepared to pull all areas down). At each inspection, if the work is found to be lacking, then you will have to correct the work before getting permission to use the room. If there is an electrical or safety violation found, it is possible the Building Official could declare the entire property inhabitable until the offenses are corrected (IE you are homeless until it is fixed).

As you can see, you have to hope beyond belief that the builder constructed everything correctly and that the building officials will work with you to minimize the amount of deconstruction necessary to inspect the work.

Also, you will be charged all the fees associated with plan review and permitting, and you will be charged for each inspection visit (as your builder would have been charged initially had they followed the law).

As for value, here is the real concern: If your home burns down or faces some similar disaster, your home owners insurance will balk at paying; they will blame the illegal construction as the cause. As for the value of your building, not having a permit will make any buyer have a difficult time getting their own insurance, thus harder to sell. The room itself will add value to your property, if it isn't a hazard (IE permitted).

Also, taxes are based upon assessments, which use the land records. Building without a permit, can be seen by local officials as an attempt to avoid paying property taxes, since the land records do not show the addition. Until the official tax records reflect an accurate statement of your building, you may face fines, tax fees and other costs associated with the improvement depending upon how long it has been there unreported.

You may wish to contact a local, licensed Architect who works with the local building department. They will know the personel, know which forms you need to fill out first and how to protect you from an overzealous Building Official (there are exceptions and options within the Code that the Building Official may forget or ignore that an Architect can request be used to prevent tear down or damage). Next time you go to build get the Architect first to protect yourself from what this construction firm did to you.

Unfortunately this is not something you will easily resolve; and even if you were to win, the amount of time and funds spent will probably exceed the cost of the actual repair.

Each state has different rules on what "as-is" means, but almost all use the term when it comes to realestate sales. At two years, you are facing a hurdle that any issue could be the result of new conditions, acceptable wear / settlement, etc. Has there been any changes in the area? (New house built next door, new addition, earthquake, flooding, etc?)

While you may have been given a home warranty with the purchase (do check your sales paperwork to see if there is any warranty and what it covers for how long) the house is sold to you as-is; it is your responsibility to raise concerns prior to taking over the house, so going back two years later is a huge up hill batle.

The home inspector is also going to be found faultless, as their reports almost always have words like "consult with an expert. . ." after each report section and they have disclaimers for missed items, etc. I got certified as a home inspector and was surprised at just how little they actually require you to know to become an inspector. They are really just an extra pair of eyes to help inexpereinced home owners look where most people don't look or go. You even mention that the repair work was well masked, so you didn't notice it until you began looking for it. A good inspector might have caught it, but you won't win any court cases proving yours wasn't good enough.

The Seller will claim that any foundation issues were fixed and resolved, which is why they marked "No" on the foundation issue section. They fixed it; so it was no longer an issue. If it came back, that is a new issue. You and I know this is bogus, but to win in court you have to prove intent; and the builder can easily show they thought it was fixed. Or, they might even be able to claim they were unaware - the repairs were from the previous owner, and were hidden so well HE and YOU didn't notice them.

So the next step is to meet with your home insurance agent. As I mentioned above, if there have been any enviromental changes (a new house next door could have changed the underground water table flow or pressures, for example) you may be covered. Even if there are no issues, you still may have a policy that allows for major repairs to be covered after a certian cost threshold, etc. You'd be surprised at what your home owners insurance covers - find out first; they might have in house or low cost engineers who will do the initial inspection, etc. They also will provide advice on your home sale; if they think you have a case against the Seller.

Best of luck on this issue. Make sure any solution you pay for solves the cause (Stress on the wall), and doesn't just fix the results (cracks).

"Like a sunroom" indicating the addition has yet to be built? If it's just a remodel there are several remodeling contractors to choose from. If you also need the addition built pick a general contractor with experience building new construction as well as additions. If s/he provides a price before the plans and specifications are on paper drop them like a hot potato. They don't know what they're doing. Whether they have the ability to provide the plans and specifications first or they refer you to an architect you must have plans to properly bid a major remodel or addition. It is also good practice anyway just to make sure both parties are on the same page and understand exactly what will be done.

Just a note about the "type" of contractors described in another answer. The one's who do most or all of the work themselves are not very profitable without doing something illegal or cutting corners somewhere, if they finish the job. The time a contractor spends on a job takes away from the office time needed to run a proper business and chase new leads to keep working after your job is finished. There are honest people out there who do everything themselves and don't need to make much money in a year but they are few and far between, typically retired and so the work as a means to keep active and make a little side money. Others try to do a couple of jobs at once and rob from the funds of one to help pay for the other. They just aren't experienced enough and were probably sub-contractors who suddenly thought they could run the show. I've seen it repeatedly. They hit up the customer for more money due to their own budget planning or abandon the job because they aren't making any more money. be leary of a contractor who does not either use an employed or sub-contracted crew, meaning they manage the project's quality, time, and money distribution.

FYI: CPVC and PEX are two different materials and installed differently. PEX is not intended to be glued but instead has special crimp fittings. PEX is a brand name of one product that is manufactured slightly differently by others as well so it is important that the same brand fittings are used to match the pipe material.

Mobile homes used CPVC for years and some still do. It works fine but is not as strong as a properly soldered copper pipe system. Is the contractor installing this new plumbing a licensed plumber? I'd be surprised if he is since he's using CPVC and not PEX (or similar) or copper. PEX pipe is even cheaper than CPVC when run by a knowledgable plumber. It doesn't require nearly as many joints since it comes in rolls and can flex through spaces easily.

There are some groups raising a fuss about BPA and other chemicals found in plastics that don't like the use of CPVC, PVC, or PEX pipe. I haven't seen the results of any lab tests to confirm or dispute their concerns. As far as durability goes it's fairly safe as long as it's properly installed and secured. It is not as susceptible to hard water damage as copper. It absolutely must be insulated along it's entire length to protect it from contact to other materials as well as freezing. Also, the fixtures in the house need to be grounded electrically since the pipe itself provides no electrical protection against accidental shock or electrocution. In a copper plumbed house the system is grounded so static electricity, a short in a wire near a water line, or lightning strike will carry the current out through the pipe instead of through the water to you, ideally.

If it's installed correctly you should be fine but make sure the contractor knows what he is doing and follows the proper procedures to use CPVC pipe.

Home Building reviews in Florence

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He did a very nice job, although it took longer than I expected. He is very polite and professional and I already have hired him to make a set of doors for a built in shelving unit in the hallway. I will call on him again when I have small construction projects.

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- Michele S.

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We are pleased and satisfied with the service of

. We needed completely restored our family room. So they replaced old drywall and placed two windows and patio door. While the drywall replacement was very awesome. With the use of paintbrush, they applied primer paint over the dry surface. And the final coat once the primer paint ...More was dried. Additionally, they installed wood like heated titles. We feel and noticed the huge difference of temperature. The room is warmer and looks more elegant.

definitely provides craftsman work at a very fair price. The work went very smoothly. They arrive on time, cleaned up well each day so it was livable, and the quality was outstanding.”

- Piotr J.

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did excellent work, the finished product looks great. He was also accommodating in dropping off the wood so I could stain it myself. Would recommend and use his services again ”

- Carolyn K.

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when he left, I was told to expect to a bid via email. no such thing has occurred. frankly, this seems to be common practice with business' these days. are these companies so flush with work that they can simply ignore the little guy?”

- Joseph M.

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and his team at

do excellent work and are a pleasure to work with.
We hired Inch for a fireplace project in our home: stone surround, custom woodworking, electrical, drywall, etc.. Additionally,

did a few other smaller jobs while onsite: installing plumping/electric for ...More a new washer/dryer and installation of a new outdoor electrical outlet.

was always very professional and punctual. He took great pride in his team's work, and called me every night during the project to discuss progress and give me an opportunity to ask questions, etc.
The quality of the work was really impressive, the custom woodworking was extremely well done and we're very happy with how the entire project turned out.
I would highly recommend Inch for their quality work, attention to detail, flexibility with scheduling, and customer service!”

- Jeremy K.

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Wife and I decided we needed to move from the country into town and downsize at the same time. The project was completed on time, with every attention to detail. The president of the company was on site each day to supervise the build. They hired only the most skilled craftsmen who clearly were perfectionists. The home is a showcase. I'd recommend ...More them without hesitation. JND”

- Theresa C.

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is always great to work with and very professional. He is a one man crew, comes in, assesses the situation and makes excellent suggestions for solutions.

also happens to be one of the best "investigators" of strange wiring we have ever had worked with on our many projects.

...More is clean, neat, professional and helpful. He is also very serious about quality work and is very responsive.”

- Cheryl L.

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A PLUS!
The entire

team treated us as though we were their priority customer, even though our Project Manager was coordinating 22 jobs at that time. They were (and continue to be) responsive and respectful of our time and our home.
There was never a time that we felt that we were being ignored or "handled".
They were ...More honest about the timeframe and gave new meaning to "under promise and over deliver".
Now that we are back home, our neighbors have all remarked at the amazing outcome.
You cannot go wrong with